By Deanie Lyn Ocampo, Executive Director of the Caucus of Development NGO Networks Inc. (CODE-NGO), Philippines 

Almost 90% of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Philippines acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Philippine government’s pandemic response during the first two years (2020-2021) significantly/moderately affected their organizational programs, projects, and services. 8 out of 10 CSOs’ management, staffing, and office operations changed as well. Organizational funding and resource mobilization of 77% of the CSOs, and citizen and civic participation of 63% were influenced in varying degrees. This situation challenged CODE-NGO to develop a recovery agenda for the CSO sector.    

With support from Forus and the French Development Agency (AFD), CODE-NGO convened 160 CSO leaders representing various sectoral groups from seven member-networks of CODE-NGO, from a CSO coalition, and from the Non-Government Organization Basic Sector of the National Anti-Poverty Commission. The leaders collectively developed and validated the seven-point COVID-19 Recovery Agenda for the Philippine CSO Sector (CRA) in 2022.  

At the launch event in December 2022 attended by 150 participants, the CRA was initially presented to five national government agencies, one academic institution, an association of corporate foundations, two other CSOs, and two development partners. They gave their insights and advice, commitment to facilitate linkage building with other institutions, and/or commitment to support the realization of the Agenda.  

Impact on Collaboration, Positioning, Public Policies 

By advocating the CRA, CODE-NGO was able to strengthen its existing partnerships and to forge new ones with national government agencies like the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). The United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) also committed to facilitate our linkage-building effort with the Armed Forces of the Philippines J7/Civil-Military Relations Unit. 

Leaders from our member networks acknowledged that the CRA launch and presentation to key stakeholders was eventful and fitting of CODE-NGO’s role as a national platform. From this launch, some member networks would organize their regional/ provincial launches in 2023.  

Through Forus’ support in partnership with the AFD, CODE-NGO was able to hire a media consultant who helped significantly increase the reach of our press releases to various media platforms: Facebook Live (4), Radio News (5), Facebook Post (1), Online News (4), and Social Media Shares (20). We also created eight social media infographics, seven Facebook videos, and one publication. We have reached about 114,000 views and 7,400 engagement, and counting. On our website, the CRA is in the top 3 highest performing section, next to our Home Page and Who We Are. All of these would not have been possible without Forus’ support. 

Some agenda points reinforce the value of long-time policies, like the Philippine government’s commitment to Open Government Partnership (OGP) principles of transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. The CRA gives the extra push for CSO reformers to remind government to protect the civic spaces for CSOs by more effectively leveraging the process and resources of the Philippine OGP. Similarly, the CRA directs CSOs to call on the Department of Health to fully implement the Mental Health Act (Republic Act No. 11036).  

The CRA also opens pathways for CSOs to optimize lesser known policies/programs. For example, we learned that the DICT, through its Digital Innovation for Women’s Advancement (DIWA) program, could provide skills training to CSOs working with women and the youth. The PIA, premier communications arm of the government, could also collaborate with CSOs in the regions in promoting CSO programs and projects that benefit local communities. 

CODE-NGO will integrate the CRA into its Strategic Plan for 2023-2027 since it intends to continue advocating, communicating, and realizing the agenda in the next three years. Five points (#2, 3, 4, 5, 7) have been raised by our member-networks in separate strategic planning processes. Four points (#3, 4, 5, 7) require new or expanded areas for CODE-NGO work; nonetheless, this project has assisted CODE-NGO understand operational frameworks and access information sources and technical expertise of government and the academic-scientific communities.